Feeling my way through the croup

Yesterday morning, Jesse got me up at 4:30, crying and burning up with a fever. I changed him, took off his heavy pajamas and gave him Infant Tylenol. He went back to sleep and I thought the rest of the day would pan out normally. That didn't happen. After he woke up at his normal time for breakfast, he was acting really fussy and his fever was up again. I eventually gave him the Tylenol again but I was concerned about how he was acting so fussy and crying so much. His temperature just kept going up and down.

I was supposed to go to an interview but had to ask for it to be rescheduled because as the day wore on, Jesse just got worse. He couldn't sleep, he cried so much, had a bad cough and he could barely walk. He'd stand up, try to walk and just fell back down. He was also acting listless because of his fever. So I called the doctor and they asked if his cough had a barking sound. I explained I can't hear what his cough sounds like and I have no idea how it could sound, only that it was a deep cough and I could feel it in his chest. (Odd they asked me about his cough. I thought ALL of them know that I'm deaf.) They advised me to bring him in so that's what I did.

At the doctor's office, Jesse was still a little cranky but he was happy as a clam once I gave him a toy to play with. I could still see he was having discomfort, though. When the doctor came in, she examined him and we talked about what had been going on with him. His temperature had been going up and down for 2 days, and he has had the cough for 2 days as well. But today, it was just worse and there were the other things going on with him, too.

The doctor suspected he might have croup. As if on cue, Jesse coughed. She pointed at him, nodding and saying, "Croup." I thought it was interesting that the way a baby coughs is the dead giveaway that they have croup. I remembered reading in the book, The Nanny Diaries, how the nanny was staying overnight at her employer's house and the little boy woke up sick in the middle of the night. The nanny was confused about what was wrong with him so she called her mother. Her mother told her to have the child cough for her over the phone and, after he did, she told the nanny, "He has croup."

So we talked about croup. I never went through that with Jennifer (there's A LOT of things I never went through with Jennifer, fortunately. She was rarely, if ever, sick when she was a baby, never had colic or the other baby ailments) so I was curious about it. She got a paper out of the drawer and showed it to me. It had all the info on it about croup. We talked about putting him into a steamy bathroom for 10-20 minutes to help when he has trouble breathing. She said she could hear him have heavy breathing right as he sat on my lap. I started to worry because I couldn't feel him have heavy breathing. I didn't see any discomfort on his face, or anything. She told me to watch for him to heave back and forth as he tries to breathe and that would tell me when he has trouble breathing. This didn't calm my anxiety, though. I mean, he wasn't doing that when he was sitting there on my lap, having trouble breathing!

Anyway, we talked more about it. He has the viral kind. She said it was contagious and I tensed. "I have another child in the home," I said.

"How old?"

"Seven."

She shook her head and wrote down about how older kids and adults only have cold-like symptoms if they catch croup from a baby. Sore throat, runny nose, fever. I was grateful for that but started pondering whether or not I should send Jennifer to school tomorrow. (I didn't want to but husband insisted on it. Sure enough, after I picked her up from school, she was complaining of a sore throat!)

The doctor prescribed antibiotics for the swelling in Jesse's throat and said it was okay to continue giving him the Tylenol as needed. She instructed me on how to give him the antibiotics -- break them in half, crush them, mix that in with a tasy baby food -- then I got Jesse dressed and we left. On the way home, I was stressing out. I kept trying to figure out HOW I was going to be able to monitor his breathing while having such a hard time telling if he was having trouble breathing. This was not something I could ask my mom about, or even my neighbors who are parents, too. They're not deaf! So how would they know?

Then I remembered something. Actually, one word. One very magical word that solved all of that worry: NETWORKING!

I don't mean networking with businesses. I mean networking as in communicating with others out there, mainly on the Internet. I don't have any deaf friends in real life, but I DO have deaf friends online. Even better: Deaf friends who are PARENTS. And chances were pretty good one of them might have been through this, too. Or, they'd know what to do.

So after I got home and everything, I e-mailed my friend, Karen Putz, who blogs over at A Deaf Mom Shares Her World Thankfully, she replied to my email right away. She had, in fact, gone through this with one of her children. As far as being able to tell if he's having trouble breathing, she said, "Put your hand on chest. Wet the back of your hand and place in front of his nose and mouth-- you should be able to feel the breath on there if it's heavy." This advice helped me to feel relief and I thanked Karen for sharing it with me.

The rest of the evening was just awful, though. I kept him in a steamy bathroom before putting him to bed but he just couldn't sleep. So I got on the couch with him, watching the movie Jesus Camp as I kept him close to me, with my good hand on his chest. (When I was sitting with him in the steamy bathroom, I remembered that scene in Terms of Endearment, when Debra Winger's character, Emma, is asked by her husband Flap how long they have to be in there and she says, "Until her throat clears up or I lose 20 pounds, whichever comes first." I THINK she said 20, but not 100% sure. I can't find the movie or the quote online, so feel free to correct me if I'm wrong!) Eventually, he fell asleep, but twice he woke up with breathing problems. The first time that happened, it was back into the steamy bathroom. I also gave him Tylenol. The second time he woke up with trouble breathing again, I took my husband's texted advice and stood holding Jesse in my arms as we stood in front of the open front door. The cold, fresh air made him feel better and he enjoyed watching the cars go by on the street in front of the house. (He LOVES watching the cars go by, like I do. haha)

Apparently, allowing cool air in is a home remedy for babies with croup. I came across an article about croup called Croup Therapy and it says,

"Cold air is one folk remedy that really works, explains Johnson. Just as an ice pack can bring down the swelling on a bump or a bee sting, cool air is often enough to return the throat to normal."

Then we were back on the couch again and I held him against me as he drifted off to sleep. At this point, I could hardly keep my eyes open, but I was still too nervous to put him back in the crib. What if he woke up with breathing problems again?

But the truth was, I could barely keep my eyes open. I was exhausted. I didn't want to fall asleep with him on the couch or be too tired to carry him. So I put him into his crib, still peacefully asleep, and just left it up to God now. Before I went to sleep, I prayed really, really hard for him. I asked God to watch over Jesse while he slept and that Jesse would be able to sleep okay without waking up again with more breathing troubles.

And I guess God heard me, because the rest of the night was uneventful. The Baby Crier didn't go off and Jesse slept until he woke up at his normal time. And I took the time this morning to pray my thanks to God.

Still, Jesse had more breathing difficulty in the morning, so it was back to the steamy bathroom again. But we ended up going twice; after breakfast, his breathing was so raspy, I could feel it on BOTH sides of his chest!! I got really worried but I kept my faith in God that Jesse will get through this. I also reminded myself that hundreds of babies have lived through this, so Jesse will, too!

Today has been a little rough, though. More fevers, more crankiness, more trouble breathing. More steamy bathroom, more Infant Tylenol and more holding him on our chests as he cries and/or falls asleep.

I'm totally not happy about him having to deal with this misery but hopefully he will get through it soon. It's just a matter of keeping an eye, and a hand, on him.